Sadie Aston

Sadie Aston was born and raised in Bournemouth and currently resides in Poole, Dorset. She completed her MA in Painting at Arts University Bournemouth in October 2022, following her BA in Fine Art. Her work is most inspired by impressionism and spiritualism, informed by artsist such as Monet and Munch. Aston has participated in several group shows, her most recent feature in ‘This and Other Worldly Glimpse’, London 2024.

Aston delves into the metaphysical realms between life and death, investigating the emotional and psychological aspects of our existence. Her vibrant, dreamlike artwork, influenced by Spiritualism, portrays ghostly figures dissolving into an abyss, emphasizing life's ephemeral nature. Triggered by familiar sources like life drawing sessions or old photographs, Aston begins with watercolour sketches, translating them into fluid oil paintings on linen or cotton duck. The haziness of the picture plane allows figures to emerge organically, as oils drip down the canvas. Aston's unique process involves scraping back paint, marking bold lines, and concealing them through erasure, aiming to dissolve bodies within their depicted realms. Her belief in the malleability of reality and the coexistence of timelines inspires the ethereal quality in her art. As she describes, the beings in her paintings seem to blend into the picture plane, capturing their energy within the frame—a transient moment frozen in the illusion of time.